Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

What's On: Vibrant Ratha Yatra Festival in Whangārei this weekend

Northern Advocate
11 Jan, 2019 12:00 AMQuick Read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Ranananda Swami begins a previous Ratha Yatra Festival. Photo / John Stone

Ranananda Swami begins a previous Ratha Yatra Festival. Photo / John Stone

An ancient Indian festival known for colour, dancing and singing is on in Whangārei this weekend.

The Ratha Yatra Festival - a significant Hare Krishna festival - began thousands of years ago in India but was introduced to the West about 50 years ago by a guru named AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and is now held around the world.

"Ratha" means "chariot" and "yatra" means "parade" or "procession" - thus the festival refers to the procession of deities on a chariot.

Radha Sundari travelled from Dunedin to take part in the 2017 Ratha Yatra Festival. Photo/John Stone
Radha Sundari travelled from Dunedin to take part in the 2017 Ratha Yatra Festival. Photo/John Stone

There is Lord Jagannath, Lord Baladeva and Subhadra Devi and as they travel through the city they will bestow blessings on the residents of Whangārei and all those who are fortunate to see them.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Saturday's festival of chariots is the sixth event held in Whangārei and the parade is known to bring lots of dancing, singing and smiles to the city.

The parade starts at Food for Life in Water St at 11am and is followed by a free feast in Cafler Park at 1pm.

The event is family-friendly and punters are encouraged to head along and help pull the beautiful cart through Whangārei.

Discover more

Stage two of meningococcal vaccinations under way

09 Jan 08:00 PM

Firefighters relieved after a drop in rubbish fire callouts

09 Jan 08:00 PM

Northland news in brief: utes collide and arson attempt on scout den

09 Jan 06:30 PM
Crime

Northland dairy owner scared for family's safety

09 Jan 05:00 PM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

The Good Drop: Warehouse, Salvation Army team up for textile recycling

Northern Advocate

Police name person who died in early morning Kaitāia crash

Northern Advocate

Kaipara mayoral hopefuls on rates, museums and what they would do differently


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

The Good Drop: Warehouse, Salvation Army team up for textile recycling
Northern Advocate

The Good Drop: Warehouse, Salvation Army team up for textile recycling

Donors receive a 10% voucher for clothing purchases over $30 as an incentive.

14 Jul 04:00 AM
Police name person who died in early morning Kaitāia crash
Northern Advocate

Police name person who died in early morning Kaitāia crash

14 Jul 02:07 AM
 Kaipara mayoral hopefuls on rates, museums and what they would do differently
Northern Advocate

Kaipara mayoral hopefuls on rates, museums and what they would do differently

14 Jul 12:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP